For the past few months, I have been serving on the Vashon High School Design Advisory Committee. I am pleased to have done so. However, I feel that there is an elephant in the room that only a few people want to see.
I am referring to the fact that now that the current high school, which includes the theater, is to be torn down, our community is about to construct two theaters of equal size in very close proximity. In addition, the Blue Heron site will require extensive work to provide for the necessary parking.
Donna Klemka and Steve Haworth have raised valid and serious questions about these two facilities. I think it is incumbent upon Vashon Allied Arts (VAA) and the school district to pause for just a bit in order to answer the concerns and questions put forth by these two thoughtful members of our community.
My own questions are numerous. How much public money will be spent on the new high school theater? How many students will use this facility? Does it represent money well spent? Will it be adequately used if VAA has a “better” theater? Will VAA’s new theater fit where it is going to be placed? The building as proposed is 240 feet long and nearly 50 feet high at its peak. Where will the “funky” performances be held?
Personally, I love the experience of a performance in the existing Blue Heron. Is this new theater something we really want? Will it work financially if the new high school theater is cheaper to use? Will it work for our community productions where the true appeal is the child’s beautiful, enraptured face up close?
I love this Island and our community. My high school-age children are fourth-generation Islanders. Our family has a connection to another Island up in Canada that is similar to Vashon. The local performance space is small, fought over and cherished by performers and audiences. These two communities are terrific places to live and grow up in — not because of their fancy, human-built environments but because of the absence of such trappings.
Both of these communities have a high percentage of artistic individuals. So we know that art is not about buildings. We also know that good communities have lots of artists and that all people have a need to express themselves. I think as a community we should spend our money not on seats to watch art but on teachers and paintbrushes and musical instruments and dance floors.
We do need performance spaces. But we need flexible spaces for our community performances. Spaces where the action is close and intimate, not grand and removed.
I have heard the Vashon Chorale sing and I have watched Drama Dock performances. It never entered my mind that these performances were anything but marvelous. The dance performances are priceless.
It is the local artist who I want to see flourish, and I’m not sure big, new expensive spaces are what we need. Are you? So come on, Vashon. Come on, VAA. Come on, school district. Let’s talk before the elephant steps on somebody.
— Jim Garrison is a third-generation Islander and owner of the Burton Water Company.
